In this remarkable study of over 2,200 female and male saints, Jane Schulenburg explores women's status and experience in early medieval society and in the Church by examining factors such as family wealth and power, patronage, monasticism, virginity, and motherhood. The result is a unique depiction of the lives of these strong, creative, independent-minded women

Overview

In this remarkable study of over 2,200 female and male saints, Jane Schulenburg explores women's status and experience in early medieval society and in the Church by examining factors such as family wealth and power, patronage, monasticism, virginity, and motherhood. The result is a unique depiction of the lives of these strong, creative, independent-minded women who achieved a visibility in their society that led to recognition of sanctity.

"A tremendous piece of scholarship. . . . This journey through more than 2,000 saints is anything but dull. Along the way, Schulenburg informs our ideas regarding the role of saints in the medieval psyche, gender-specific identification, and the heroics of virginity." —Library Journal

"[This book] will be a kind of 'roots' experience for some readers. They will hear the voices, haunted and haunting, of their distant ancestors and understand more about themselves." —Christian Science Monitor

"This fascinating book reaches far beyond the history of Christianity to recreate the 'herstory' of a whole gender." —Kate Saunders, The Independent

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1: Saints' Lives as a Source for the History of Women, ca. 500-11002: The Making of the Mulier Sancta: Public and Private Roles3: At What Cost Virginity? Sanctity and the Heroics of Virginity4: Marriage and Domestic Proselytization5: "Golden Wombs": Motherhood and Sanctity6: Sorores Sanctae and Their Saintly Siblings: Terrestrial and Celestial Bonds7: Gender Relationships and Circles of Friendship among the Mulieres Sanctae8: Longevity, Death, and Sanctity: A Demographic Survey of the Celestial GynaeceumEpilogue: The Celestial GynaeceumAbbreviationsNotesSelected BibliographyIndex